1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image observing apparatus, such as a finder for video cameras or a still video finder, which is designed to be capable of observing, through an optical system, an image formed by a liquid crystal display or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the image observing apparatus of the type, light enters the apparatus from the outside, reflection of the light makes an image hard to see. For this reason, provision has been made to prevent incoming light from being incident on the apparatus by improving its hood section, or to decrease the reflectance by applying an antireflection film onto its reflecting surface.
Cameras in the field of electronic imaging have used finders on the system of magnifying and viewing the image plane of a cathode-ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) through an optical system. Even though provision has been made to decrease the reflectance as mentioned above, the LCD whose image plane is dark as compared with the CRT has the problem that the reflection of incoming light from the surfaces of a finder lens and the LCD cannot be disregarded.
In the system using a shield plate and a hood, such as that proposed by Japanese Utility Model Preliminary Publication No. Hei 1-146227, the shield plate must be made larger in order to effectively prevent incoming light from entering the finder. This burdens the system with the problems of not only making the handling and carrying of a finder apparatus inconvenient, but also giving a disagreeable feeling to an observer. Furthermore, there is another problem that the use of the antireflection film leads to high cost.